Vintage American Dorm Decor

During the summer before freshman year, I carefully picked out the perfect accessories for my soon-to-be dorm room in San Diego, from a really cute duvet to an "Endless Summer" poster (I dreamed of being a surfer girl). Then I met my roommate. Her idea of sophisticated decor was plastering photos of nude or nearly nude fashion models on every available inch of wall space.

I'm sure I could've learned to co-exist with our clashing styles, but the roommate took the fashion spreads to heart and walked around naked or nearly naked whenever she was in our postage stamp of a room. As did her friends during sleepovers. She eventually moved into a different suite with an equally clothing-averse pal, and I got a new roommate who arrived with nothing but sheets and a plain comforter, which was just fine by me!

Ah, college life.

Decorating a first dorm or apartment can be a really big deal. Even if your parents let you go wild with your bedroom as a teenager, the rest of the house was still their territory. A dorm room, where presumably you'll be spending a lot of time studying and entertaining, is a chance to assert your own independent style — and learn to live with what other people consider awesome. (I'm talking about you, pot-leaf poster and tie-dye bedspread!)

When I saw this post about vintage dorm rooms on ModCloth's blog, I was delighted to learn that American college students — in this case, young women — have been decorating their dorms since they first set foot on campuses. What a great snapshot of popular styles through the ages! Click on over to the original post to see a few more awesome photos.

What was your dorm style? If you're about to start school, how much time have you spent imagining how you'll decorate?